Ireland’s BitVendo seems to have encountered more trouble than it had anticipating while trying to launch the country’s first Bitcoin ATM.
First, the Bank of Ireland refused the company’s application for a bank account just a couple of days before installation of the machine.
Second, the machine’s allotted home, at Hippety’s Cafe, pulled out of the arrangement at the last minute.
BitVendo CEO Megan Dolan had this to say:
“We were only informed as we tried to install the machine. We were told staffing became a concern, it came as a massive shock to us, with no prior notice. We think there is a lot more to it, but can’t expand.”
Finally, after days of public struggle, BitVendo installed its Bitcoin ATM at nearby electronics shop GSM Solutions and anticipate a launch Thursday morning.
Opposition
Details of why, exactly, people are having a hard time with BitVendo are scarce. According to Dolan, the bank rejected her company’s application because it was not comfortable with “the nature of [her] business.”
Both Dolan and Alan Donohoe of the Irish Bitcoin Foundation claim the bank’s rejection came from instructions from higher-ups, but no has been able to confirm this.
Donohoe has since been trying to urge Irish banks to open up to Bitcoin businesses.
“We urge banks in Irelands to consider the future and how bitcoin can help the economy. Its not about competing with government currency, its about the technology and how it can spur growth,” he said.
Allied Irish Banks, according to conversations between their Twitter account and BitVendo’s, appears more open to Bitcoin businesses, noting that “the bank does accept payments for the bank accounts of companies that trade in this currency.”
BitVendo said the company intended to apply for a bank account with AIB in response.
Curiously, that conversation has been removed from AIB’s Twitter feed.